Tigers place Austin Meadows on injured list as he deals with anxiety
It's Meadows' second time pausing his career for mental health in seven months
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Detroit Tigers placed outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list as he deals with anxiety.
It is the second time in seven months that Meadows announced he was stepping away from baseball due to mental health reasons.
Scott Harris, the Tigers' president of baseball operations, released a statement before Saturday's game.
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Austin Meadows, #17 of the Detroit Tigers, bats during the Opening Day game against the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park on April 6, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan. The Red Sox defeated the Tigers 6-3. (Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
"The Tigers fully support Austin's decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health," Harris said. "As an organization, we have taken many steps to provide and destigmatize mental health resources, and we will do more to help our players tackle the mental and physical challenges they face on a daily basis. We commend Austin for confronting these challenges head-on and ask our fans to join us in supporting him through every step of his journey back to the field."
Meadows was originally in the Tigers' starting lineup on Saturday, batting sixth and playing left field. He was replaced by Akil Baddoo, whom Detroit called up to fill his spot on the roster.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meadows played in just 36 games last year dealing with his anxiety, vertigo, an Achilles injury, and COVID-19.
Austin Meadows, #17 of the Detroit Tigers, looks on against the Minnesota Twins before the start of the first inning of the game at Target Field on April 26, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 5-4. (David Berding/Getty Images)
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"This season has been an unfortunate struggle with a series of injuries and illness. . . . What I have told very few people is that I also have been struggling with my mental health in a way that has extended my time away from the game that I love so much," Meadows said last September in what was his first tweet since Feb. 13, 2021. "I've been dealing with this privately with a great team of professionals, but I need to continue to put in the hard work off the field towards feeling mentally healthy."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meadows is 5-for-21 (.238) in six games played this year.
He is the second big-leaguer this year to step away due to mental health challenges.
Austin Meadows, #17 of the Detroit Tigers, bats against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park on June 11, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Colorado Rockies Daniel Bard is on the injured list due to anxiety, as well.
"It’s a hard thing to admit," Bard said. "But I’ve been through this before. I have enough going on outside the game to realize what’s important. . . . I’m extremely grateful to be in an organization that understands these things and is accepting."
Bard has struggled with the "yips" in the past, and many believe they returned during the World Baseball Classic where he allowed four earned runs without recording an out, walking two batters, throwing two wild pitches, and breaking Jose Altuve's thumb on a pitch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Scott Thompson contributed to this report.